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OBITUARY ADDRESSES 



OCCASION OF THE DEATH OF 

THE HON. WILLIAM UPHAM, 

A SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES, FROM THE STATE OF VERMONT, 
DELIVERED IN THE 

SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

JANUARY 15, 1853. 



In Senate, Saturday, January 15, 1853. 

Prayer by the Rev. James Gallaher. 

On motion by Mr. Borland, the reading of the Journal was dispensed with. 

Mr. FOOT rose and said : 

Mr. President: I rise to perform a melancholy duty this morning, in for- 
mally announcing to the Senate the sad intelligence of the decease of one of 
the elder members of this body. My colleague, the Hon. William Upham, 
expired at his lodgings in this city at about the hour of two o'clock yesterday 
evening, after a distressing illness of some ten days, at the age of sixty years. 

This is the first instance that a Senator from Vermont has deceased during 
his official term. Mr. Upham was a native of the town of Leicester, in the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, whence he removed at an early age to the 
State of Vermont. He settled and commenced the practice of the profession 
of the law at Montpelier, the capital of the State, which has been the place of 
his residence and the home of his family to the present time. An extensive 
and successful business at the bar of his own and the adjoining counties soon 
rewarded his professional labors. By his ability, his energy, and his persever- 
ing devotion to the profession of his choice and his pride, he attained an 
enviable distinction upon a forum which counted upon the list of its champions 
the names of a Prentiss, a Chase, a Mattocks, and others of high eminence as 
advocates and jurists. 

In addition to careful and laborious research, he was accustomed in a re- 
markable degree to bring the utmost energies of his mind and the enthusiasm 
of his spirit to the cause of his client. His legal counsels and aid were espe- , 
cially sought by those upon whom the hand of adversity and want had fallen, 
and with equal readiness and zeal he espoused the cause of the friendless and 



Q OBITUARY ADDRESSES. /l / {L^ 

suitor as of him who could count him down a rich reward. No rri 
who sought his advice and assistance in a just cause was ever turned aside 
from considerations of his pecuniary indigence, He adopted his cause and 
made it his own | his reward was in the consciousness of duty done, of rights 
vindicated, of w rongs redressed. 

Mr. Upham repeatedly represented the town of Montpelier in the popular 
branch of the State Legislature. There he always took a prominent and 
leading part in the discussions upon the various questions of public or private 
interest which were brought to the consideration of that body. 

In 1842, Mr. Upham was elected by the Legislature of his adopted State, 
to a seat in the Senate of the United States. In 1 848 he received the indorse- 
ment of the approval of his constituency as a faithful public servant by a 
reelection* for an additional term of six. years, scarcely half of which is passed 
away when he is summoned to another, a higher, and more awful tribunal. 
His impaired state of health for some years past has restrained him from 
participating so generally and so actively in the discussions of this body as his 
inclination might otherwise have induced him to do, or his ability as a public 
debater might perhaps have demanded of him. Nevertheless his speeches upon 
■ I important and exciting public questions bear the peculiar impress of 
stness, his research, his ability, and his patriotic devotion to the best 
interests' of his country. A striking illustration is furnished of his fidelity to the 
trust committed to him and of his constant and patient attention to his public 
duties in re. in the fact which I had from his own mouth, that during the ten 
of his service in this body he never absented himself from the city of 
lington for a single day while Congress was in session, and never failed, 
when the condition of his health would permit, of daily occupying his seat in 
this Chamber during the sittings of the Senate; and I may add that he has 
often come here when a prudent regard to his physical condition would have 
detaint d him at his private lodgings. 

Mr. Upham was emphatically the artificer of his own fortunes. He owed 
nothing to the factitious circumstances of wealth or patronage. He rose to his 
high position by his own energies, his own unaided efforts; thus furnishing 
another and beautiful illustration of the operation of the genius of our institu- 
tions, in that they open the pathway to station and honor alike to all, and no 
are recognized other than the votaries at the shrine of justice, of 
honor, and patriotism. 

During the illness of my late colleague, the estimable companion of his 

youth svaa summoned from her distant home to attend at his sick bedside. 

t and dying hours were solaced by the presence, and by the watchful 

and affectionate care of her who had been the solace of his life, and which 

l nt -mil an one knows how to bestow. But not care, nor tears, nor 

nol skill, nor place, nor power, could stay the impending blow. It 

fallen suddenly ; it has fallen in an unexpected hour; it has fallen heavil\ 

all "I n-. but most of all upon an interesting, and till now cheerful and 

ful and happy dome-tic circle. What hearts it has crushed, what lies of 

lion it has severed, what hopes it has blighted, 1 cannot, 1 may not 

attempt to depict. 1 may not draw aside the veil which conceals in sacred 

seclusion the outpourings of private grief. May He who has declared he 

Would be the ''widow's Cod and a father to the fatherless'' show mercy, and 

forget not kindness in this time of His severe chastisement, 

And_. .Mr. President, while one and another and yet another of our asso- 



OBITUARY ADDRESSES. 3 

ciates in this Council Chamber of the nation is stricken from our midst by the 
hand of Death, we are all impressively admonished of the frailty of human life, 
the emptiness of human honors, and the vanity of human hopes. We are 
solemnly admonished to be also ready when the Master calls; and happy will 
it be for us if our hopes of acceptance in His mercy shall prove as a sure and 
steadfast anchor to our souls in that dread hour which must come upon us all, 
when the world and its worthlessness shall recede from our sinking vision. 

Mr. President, I offer the following resolutions: 

Resolved, That the members of the Senate, from a sincere desire to show 
every mark of respect to the memory of the Hon. William Upham, late Senator 
from Vermont, will go into mourning for one month, by the usual mode of 
wearing crape on the left arm. 

Resolved, That when the relations of the deceased may desire to remove his 
remains to the State of Vermont, they be attended by the Sergeant-at-Arms 
and a committee of Senators to be appointed by the President of the Senate. 

Mr. SEWARD, said: 

Mr. President, how true it is that, every day we spend here brings some fresh 
event to impress upon our minds the fraternity of the States and comprehen- 
siveness of the Republic! We began the week with surveying our interests 
in the Caribbean Sea; we went from thence to examine the defenses of the 
youngest member of the Union on the Pacific coast, and now, at the end, we 
are called to make a visit of condolence with the eldest of the adopted States in 
her eastern mountain home. 

Last summer I stood beside the grave of Ethan Allen, on the shore of Lake 
Champlain. The lightning had descended and had riven the native marble 
slab which covered it, as if Nature herself had been willing to mark her 
appreciation of the free, yet turbulent character of the founder of Vermont, 
and captor of Ticonderoga. But the rudeness and turbulence of the earlier 
age of Vermont, have passed away, while her intelligence and love of freedom 
remain, increased and refined by art and learning. 

William Upham was of Vermont, a consistent exponent of her institu- 
tions — the most equal institutions enjoyed by man in this country and in the 
world. He was a man of strong and vigorous judgment, which acted always 
by a process of sound inductive reasoning, and his compeers here will bear 
witness that he was equal to the varied and vast responsibilities of the senato- 
rial trust. He was a plain, unassuming, unostentatious man. He never spake 
for display, but always for conviction. He was an honest and just man. He 
had gotten nothing by fraud or guile, and so he lived without any fear of losing 
whatever of fortune or position he had attained. No gate was so strong, no 
lock so fast and firm, as the watch he kept against the approach of corruption, 
or even undue influence or persuasion. He exacted little for his own State, 
but, like her, was liberal to all others. His national policy was the increase 
of industry, the cultivation of peace, and the patronage of improvement. He 
adopted his opinions without regard to their popularity, and he never stifled 
his convictions of truth, nor suppressed their utterance through any fear of 
power or of faction ; but he was, on the contrary, consistent and constant — 
" As pilot well expert in perilous wave, 
That to a steadfast starre his course hath bent." 



4 OBITUARY ADDRESSES. 

1 wa> honored with a place in his frieDdship, and Vermont was intimately 
related to the State from which 1 came, and therefore, I thought it my right 
and duty to speak a just panegyric ovei bis remains. 1 wish that the wreath 
1 have contributed were more lit to adorn the bier and grace the tomb of so 
true a representative, and so upright a statesman. 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to. 

( >n motion by Mr. FOOT, it was 

Ordered) That the Secretary communicate these proceedings to the House of 
Representatives, and to the family of the deceased. 

On his motion, it was 

Resolved, As a further mark of respect, that the Senate do now adjourn. 

And the Senate accordingly adjourned. 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

Saturday, January 15, 1853. 

The House met at twelve o'clock. Prayer by the Rev. James Gallaher. 

A message was received from the Senate, by Asbury Dickins, Esq., its 
Secretary, announcing the death of William Uimiam, late a member of that 
body, with resolutions thereon. 

The Speaker. Is it the pleasure of the House that the message be now 
read? 

There being no objection, the message from the Senate was read. 

.Mr. MLNER rose and said: 

Mr. Speaker: It becomes my painful duty to announce to this House the 
death of a representative from my State, in the other Hall of this Capitol. 

The honorable William Upham, a Senator from Vermont, died at his 
lodgings in this city yesterday, the 14th instant, at a quarter before two o'clock 
in the afternoon, in the sixty-first year of his age. 

W ithin a few brief months, this is the third member of that honorable body 
who has been called to take his final exit from the stage of life, — a Clay, a 
Whitcomb, and now the lamented subject of my remarks. Truly, position, 
honor, greatness, are no shield against death. The learned and the wise — he 
of place and power must also die. 

This i> the firs! time, I believe, that Vermont, the eldest daughter of the 
Republic, has lost a Senator in Congress. She has in former years been called 
upon to mourn the loss of a Mallory, a Hunt, and a Deming — all of whom died 
in quick succession while occupying seals in this House. I Jut the "grim 
enger" has nev< r entered the other Chamber to strike one of her honored 
members; Senator I pham was bis firsi victim there. 

Seven membi i - of this ( longress — three Senators and four Representatives — 
and also one head of a Department, have died since the commencement of tho 



OBITUARY ADDRESSES. 5 

first session ; six of whom were from the Eastern States. New England lias 
indeed drank deep from the cup of mortality within the past year. Some of 
the purest and most massive pillars which supported the temple of her greatness 
have given way and fallen, but still the structure stands unmoved, towering 
aloft in all its brightness and wonted splendor ! One generation passes, and 
another takes its place. The world moves on, our Government and institutions 
remain ! Other Websters, and Uphams, and Rantouls, and Thompsons, and 
Fowlers, and Andrewses, will take the places of those departed, and all will 
be well ! 

Mr. Upham was born at Leicester, Massachusetts, in August, 1792. He 
removed with his father to Montpelier, Vermont, when only ten years of age, 
where he has ever since resided. He entered the University of Vermont, at 
Burlington, while very young. After he left that institution, he studied the 
profession of law, and commenced practice before he had arrived at full age. 
He soon became eminent in his profession ; being located at the capital, his 
professional services were much sought for in all the courts, and many of the 
counties in the State. He made the practice of his profession his only business, 
until he took his place in the United States Senate, in December, 1843. 
During all that period, I am not aware that he was ever accused of a dishonor- 
able act in his profession. I believe his universal reputation to have been that 
of strict integrity, not only in his professional practice, but in all his dealings 
with the world. 

He was several times a member of the State Legislature, but had little to do 
with political life till he was elected to the place he has now left vacant. 

This was his tenth session, as a member of the United States Senate. During 
the whole <*f that time he has never been out of this District while Congress 
was in session, and never absent from the Senate a single day, unless prevented 
from attending by actual sickness. Probably as much can be said of but few 
members of that body, or this. His strict attention, and familiar knowledge 
with all the business of legislation, had become proverbial. His name will be 
found recorded in nearly every vote for the ten years, and rarely, if ever, has 
he given a vote which did not meet the approbation of a majority of the 
people of his adopted State. 

He was entirely above intrigue in politics, as well as the ordinary business of 
life. He would have looked upon the highest place in the gift of the Govern- 
ment, or people, obtained by such means, as a mere post of degradation. 

1 have enjoyed the pleasure of his acquaintance, and I think friendship, for 
many years. During both sessions of this Congress, I have sat with him at 
the same table. But his last meal is taken, and the worm is ready to sup 
upon all that remains of the noble-minded Senator. 

But, Mr. Speaker, how little is there of the great and good man that is con- 
signed to the tomb ? The shroud and the vault conceal the body from our 
vision, but the memory of good deeds and great actions live on, and will remain 
fresh and green forever ! 

Mr. Upham was taken sick on Wednesday, the 5th instant; he had the best 
of medical advice and attendance from the beginning. His accomplished and 
devoted wife was with him the last three days of his life. All was done that 
could be done to make smooth his dying pillow. 

Let us commend the heart-stricken uidow, and the bereaved family,' to the 
teachings of Him who doeth all things well, and who alone can heal the broken 
heart, and calm the whirlwind of grief in the afflicted soul. 



8 



OBITUARY ADDRESSES. 



Lei these frequent admonitions, so solemn and awful, find a deep place in our 
hearts, w ho j «'t remain behind. 

Mr. Speaker, I offer the following resolutions: 

Resolr-i! That this House has heard, with deep sensibility, the announcement 
of the death of the Hon. William Upham, a Senator in Congress from the 
of V. rmont. 

R > ■•■/. That as a testimony of respect for the memory of the deceased, the 
members and officers of this House will wear the usual badge of mourning 
\'nr ihiitv days. 

11 wived, That the proceedings of this House, in relation to the death of the 
Hon. William Upham, he communicated to his family by the Clerk. 

Ri valval. That as ;i further mark of respect for the memory of the deceased, 
this House do now adjourn. 

Mr. MEACHAMsaid: 

I have just received a note from my colleague, (Mr. Bartlett,*) the im- 
mediate representative of our deceased Senator, stating that on account of 
Bickness, he will not be able to be present and take a part in these exercises. 

1 therefore rise to second the motion which has been made, but not to add 
anything in regard to the character or history of the deceased. My colleague, 
(Mr. Miner,) from bis personal and his professional intercourse at home, and 
from his social intimacy with the deceased Senator and his family while here, 
has been peculiarly qualified to discharge this duty, which he has done faithfully 
and fully. 

The remark, in regard to the number of persons who have died during the 
' ress, has brought to my mind a comparison which I have been 
accustomed to make, without any detailed examination of facts, as to the 
mortality of eminent men in the first two or three years of the decade com- 
mencing in 1840, and the one commencing in 1S50; and especially of the 
eminent men who have been connected with the Government of the United 
States. 

In the first of these there was the loss of an unusual number of members 
of this House; in the latter one, an unusual number of the members of the 
Senate, and of the most eminent men ever connected with that body, follow- 



• The following is the note alluded to in the above remarks: 

January 15, 1 353. 
Di mi Sue I did intend to address the House upon the death of my late distinguished 
Oolleague in the Senate, but indisposition will prevent my being in my seat to-day. The 
announcement of the decease of the Hon. William Upham comes to us as another admonition, 
warning ua that in the midst <>f life we are in death. 

Our death we now deplore, did not have the benefit of an early educa- 

tion, but by bis i e of character, and talents of a high order, he attained die highest 

il the bar, and the elevated position he held at his decease. In his death I have lost 
a friend. Verm • a son, who bi Id a strong position in the affections of her people. 

I have the honor to be, most respectfully, yours, 

THOMAS BARTLETT, Jr. 
Hod. Jvmi.-. Mi bah, /' ■ i qf Repreuntatives. 



OBITUARY ADDRESSES. 7 

ing the general rule, which I believe is an universal rule in the history of the 
world, that great men come and go in schools. 

In both of these cases we have lost, I believe, two Judges of the Supreme 
Court. In each of them we have lost two eminent Secretaries of State. In 
both of them we have lost a President of the United States. In the former 
period we lost an acting Vice President, and I trust in God the parallel 
will not be completed. 

During both of these periods there has scarce been a department of the 
Government that has not sent on its representative to the congregation of the 
dead ; and now in this latter period, while the death-knell is pealing all over 
the land, it has reached and startled the people of my own State, in an- 
nouncing the death, sudden and unexpected, of one of her Senators in Con- 
gress. 

I do not propose, as I before stated, to speak of the merits, the character, or 
the history of the dead; but I would, if it were possible, convey to a family, 
an esteemed and worthy family — a worthy wife and worthy children — some 
consolation in this peculiar and trying affliction. 

I believe it is common for every one, when they are tried by affliction, to 
say, " There are no sorrows like unto my sorrows." But there are peculiar 
circumstances connected with this case which all will deem afflictive. 

There have been very different sentiments among different nations in regard 
to the treatment they should give to the remains of the dead. At one time an 
effort was made to embalm the dead, in order to preserve every feature, every 
lingering lineament of the countenance, as it was when living. At another, the 
exact reverse of this was pursued, and instead of attempting to preserve the 
feature, or form even, they have burned the body, and urned only the ashes for 
preservation. 

The sentiment of our Saxon race is entirely different from either. Their 
sentiment and their wish is, that when the family die, they may be gathered 
together in one group, in the same graveyard; and whether it may be in a 
marble tomb above, or in the peaceful and powerful grave beneath the ground, 
that they may lie, side by side, where only " a few feet of sullen earth divides 
each winding sheet." 

It is in accordance with sentiments known to be universal, that Congress has 
so often, and I believe so justly, sent an escort of its own members to the home 
of affectionate relatives with the remains of the departed associate. It is for 
this cause that you see so many of those mute and graveless monuments in 
your Congressional burying-ground. 

This, I deem it, is the educated craving of our nature. We need it, and we 
must have it ; and notwithstanding the disposition of the American branch of 
this race to roam over the world, they never lose, in any part of that world, 
this strong feeling, as if it were the instinct of nature. I believe atlthis hour 
that there is many an American, smitten with disease on a foreign soil, who is 
lifting up his only prayer to the Eternal that he may return to his home, not 
simply to die in the bosom of his family, but that, with that family, he may be 
buried in the bosom of his own church-yard. This is the wish not only ol the 
dying, but those who survive them wish the remains of their friends near them, 
that they may drop a tear, that they may plant a flower, and that they may 
rear a monument over the grave of the dead. 

I have no doubt that many a mother, whose sailor boy, wrapped in the flag 
of his country, had a burial at sea, would be willing to spend the remainder 



8 



OBITUARY ADDRESSES. 



her days raking the bed of that ocean, if she might only bring up the remains 
boy, and bury them with hers in a common church-yard. 

it is the lack of this peculiar consolation, craved by all of our natures, 
of which this family is at present deprived. They must return to their home — 
to their home that is desolate, and must return alone. That father and that 
md cannot accompany them, either dead or living. 
And ere they depart from this place to their distant home. I wish to convey 
to them my own. and may not 1 add, 1 may convey to the bosom ol that 
afflicted family, the sympathy of every member of this body? 

I have nothing further to add, but that it seem to me that the mere mention 
of the past, and the rapidity with which the harvest has been garnered into the 
grave, should remind us that our end is hastening, and may soon be here, and 
call upon every one to inquire, who of us "shall pay Death's tribute the coming 



year 



I second the adoption of the resolutions. 

The (Hiest'ion was then taken, and the resolutions were unanimously adopted. 

The House thereupon adjourned until Monday next. 



Washington : Trinted at the Congressional Globe Office. 



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